The Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic is an annual award given for a speculative fiction novel or a book-length collection. The name of the award comes from the title of the first novel by Phyllis Gotlieb, Sunburst (1964).

The first award was given out in 2001. The award consists of a cash prize (C$1,000 in 2001-2005) and a medallion. The winner is selected by a jury; a new jury is struck each year. In 2008 a young-adult winner was added. The winners to date have been:

Sunburst Award administrator and jury use the broadest possible definition of speculative fiction for eligibility purposes: "science fiction, fantasy, magic realism, horror, surrealism, le fantastique, myth and legend, fantastical storytelling, and any other writing beyond the strictly realistic". To be eligible for the award, a work must be published between January 1 and December 31 of the previous year. Only Canadian citizens and landed immigrants are eligible, however there are no Canadian residency requirements, and three of the five awards presented to date have gone to expatriates (Stewart, Doctorow, Ryman).

2009 Winners

Toronto, September 28, 2009: The Sunburst Award Committee is pleased to announce that the winner of its 2009 adult award is The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson and the winner of its 2009 young adult award is Little Brother by Cory Doctorow.

2009 ADULT SHORTLIST

Night Child by Jes BattisThe Sunburst jury says: "Occult Special Investigator Tess Corday is a terrifically appealing heroine—determined, charming, vulnerable and very human in a world of vampires, necromancers and other supernatural menace. Night Child takes what is becoming a hackneyed genre—romantic supernatural investigator—and injects it with a kind of manic, crazy, campy fun: a little bit Buffy, a little bit CSI and even a little bit hardboiled."

The Gargoyle by Andrew DavidsonThe Sunburst jury says: "An unquenchable thirst for story and a phenomenal command of his craft make Andrew Davidson’s The Gargoyle a reader's dream. This ferociously ambitious, incendiary (at times literally) story of one man's phoenix-like transformation at the hands of a woman, possibly mad, who claims to have known him for 700 years, is prepared to fall on its own highly charged imaginative sword at any time, but never does. Davidson manages to evoke squirm-inducing horror and abiding love with the same unblinking powers of observation and self-consciousness. As the relationship between narrator and Marianne deepens and her tale of their shared history unfolds, past and present converge in ways tragic and redemptive, and immensely satisfying."

The Alchemist's Code by Dave DuncanThe Sunburst jury says: "With The Alchemist's Code, Dave Duncan accomplishes something which seems to have become an increasing rarity in this or any other genre—the telling of an exciting, interesting and coherent story that has an actual beginning, middle and end—a skill surprisingly lacking in many writers. Set in an alternate 16th-century Venice filled with lush architecture, dashing gondoliers, sultry courtesans, political intrigue and magic, young Alfeo is apprenticed to doctor/prognosticator extraordinaire Nostradamus. When the corpse of an old friend, skewered by Alfeo's own rapier, is left, literally, on his doorstep, it's up to Alfeo and Nostradamus to solve the crime and restore order—whilst still trying to earn a living, capture a spy, and eat a decent meal, not to mention trying to avoid accusations of witchcraft and being burned at the stake. While technically a sequel to Duncan's earlier The Alchemist's Apprentice, readers can jump right into Code and feel right at home—again, a subtle skill on the writer's part that should be lauded. A charming book, full of wit, good humour, and some jolly good mental and physical fencing. Not to mention some delicious-sounding risotto." The Alchemist’s Code is the second book in Dave Duncan’s The Alchemist series.

Things Go Flying by Shari LapeñaThe Sunburst jury says: "Shari Lapeña’s disarmingly deadpan novel of domestic dysfunction nudges readers into the realm of the uncanny, wherein the oh-so-familiar is suddenly rendered strange, even frightening, but which, when faced, leads its characters back to the familiar, and the essential truths of who they are. As the Walker family begins to disintegrate in the usual ways of busy modern urban families, the unusual and extraordinary begin to happen. Eventually, the boundaries between normal and paranormal are blurred to the extent that everything—from a husband and father’s midlife crisis to a teenage boy’s exploration of sex and identity—is edged with strangeness, with magic and finally wonder. A gem."

Half a Crown by Jo WaltonThe Sunburst jury says: Half a Crown "presents a striking contrast between the increasingly grim reality faced by one protagonist with the lighter observations of an initially naïve second major character, walking a difficult tightrope of growing suspense until both protagonists face consequences, and the stakes and tension rise grippingly. Although some readers will find the ending jarring, the book is an outstanding examination of both how evil can become 'normal' and of personal courage (of 'doing what is right' rather than two-fisted heroics). A heroine takes shape before the readers' eyes." Half a Crown is the third volume in Jo Walton's alternate-history Small Change series, preceded by Farthing (2006) and Ha'penny (2007).

The Summoning by Kelley ArmstrongThe Sunburst jury says: "A necromancer just realizing her true self and the extent of her powers in a mysterious and potentially dangerous world, Chloe Saunders is also a typical teenage girl starting at a new high school in Toronto. After causing a stir at school when she sees some ghosts, she ends up at a group home for troubled teens. It is there that the world of the supernatural collides with the world of the adolescent. The Summoning combines those two worlds beautifully in a coming-of-age story that is exciting and suspenseful, tender and affecting. It captures teen angst with perfect pitch, and without a whiff of sentimentality." The Summoning is book one in her Darkest Powers YA urban-fantasy series; book two, The Awakening, came out in May 2009. Frostbitten, book 10 in the Otherworld paranormal fantasy series (which began with Bitten, 2001), will be published in October 2009.

Dingo by Charles de LintThe Sunburst jury says: "Teenager Miguel discovers that his new Australian girlfriend, along with her twin sister, are shape-shifters, half human and half dingo. De Lint expertly weaves Australian folklore throughout and switches effortlessly from everyday settings such as Miguel's high school or his father's comic and music store to the mythical realm of the Dreamtime. Similarly, we think nothing of how otherworldly creatures appear in a contemporary North American setting. The characters are well drawn, in particular the two sisters with their contrasting personalities, and the way in which Miguel and his long-term nemesis, Johnny, have to put aside their differences to release the girls from a centuries-old curse is really well handled. Dingo is a well-written, highly imaginative and unusual fantasy novel that stands out from other current novels for the YA age group. This book demands to be read from cover to cover in one sitting, and fortunately that's very easy to do."Charles de Lint is credited as having pioneered the contemporary fantasy genre with his 1984 urban fantasy novel Moonheart, which is still in print. His work includes 65 books published to date. He has been a finalist 17 times for the World Fantasy Award, and won in 2000 for his story collection Moonlight and Vines. These stories (and most of his recent novels) are set in his fictional city of Newford.

Little Brother by Cory DoctorowThe Sunburst jury says: "Many novels take a chapter or two to introduce the setting and protagonists and get the plot on the road. Not so Little Brother—it sings and zings from the first page, perhaps even the first line. Readers will immediately be swept up in the story of 17-year-old Marcus and his buddies, who, after a terrorist attack on not-so-far-future San Francisco, get caught in a government street-sweep simply because, well, they were there. So they must be guilty, right? After Marcus is finally let go, he decides that something needs to be done about this horrifying erosion of liberties and the scary world made scarier by the very people who are supposed to protect us. Besides, some of his friends are still, ominously, missing. Using his technogeek expertise, the Internet and every contact he has, Marcus takes on the school system, the government, Homeland Security, and anyone else standing in the way of freedoms both small and large. In anyone else's hands this material might so easily have come off as preachy or even trite, but Doctorow's superb handling of his protagonists and his plot turn the story into a nail-biting, heartbreaking, rollercoaster of a novel that will leave the reader anguished and sweating over the fate of its characters. Thankfully, the novel wasn't doled out in installments, like Dickens, or we would all have been waiting on the virtual pier, begging to know what became, not of Little Nell, but of Marcus and his friends. A gem of a book—topical, well written, and not to be missed."

Wild Talent: A Novel of the Supernatural by Eileen KernaghanThe Sunburst jury says: "An absorbing, carefully crafted coming-of-age story and a vividly successful evocation of Victorian occult worlds, with real people and events skillfully interwoven with the author's fictional supernatural elements (and the false supernatural of charlatans), this book reads like a superb historical novel as well as a superior fantasy."

Night Runner by Max TurnerThe Sunburst jury says: "Night Runner is an entertaining and well-crafted novel that offers a fresh take on the vampire genre. From the first paragraph, in which protagonist Zach Thomson tells us that 'this is the story of how I died, twice,' readers are completely pulled in. The story is action-packed right from the start, and it blasts off at a pace as quick and exciting as the chase scenes that appear throughout the novel. All the characters are vividly portrayed and the dialogue is extremely well crafted. Zack Thomson in particular is a highly original character with a distinctive voice. The reader believes in him, urging him on through page-turning plot twists in this story of an eternal war between good and evil. Once we started reading, we couldn’t put it down."

Monday, September 28, 2009

Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude topped a list of books that have most shaped world literature over the past 25 years, as chosen by "Indra Sinha, Blake Morrison, Amit Chaudhuri and 22 other authors . . . The survey was conducted by the international literary magazine Wasafiri--meaning 'cultural traveller' in Swahili," the Guardian reported.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

An AbeBooks.com poll of British customers about the funniest books they've ever read yielded this laughable list:

1. Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (1933)2. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979)4. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome (1889)5. Wilt by Tom Sharpe (1976)6. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (1980)7. Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis (1954)8. The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse (1938)9. Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding (1996)10. Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall by Spike Milligan (1971)

As promised, here is my personal choice of children's books that you may have missed during childhood but might consider catching up on now. Since it is based on my own reading it has a definite UK bias, and I have ruthlessly limited myself to one book by each author (very difficult, which book by Edith Nesbit is really my favourite?) Nonetheless, you can reasonably assume that, where authors have written more than one book, I am confident in recommending their work, although I must add that Enid Blyton only got in by the skin of her teeth. My choice is largely aimed at the older child, so it doesn't include many the excellent books which children read with pleasure, but were not specifically written for them (for instance, Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat) and picture books have been ignored, with one or two exceptions, most notably Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, which ought to be on everyone's reading list. It should be remembered that good illustrations play an important part in children's literature, and some of the books listed below have been illustrated by remarkable artists such as C. Walter Hodges, Charles Keeping and Pauline Baynes; for adult readers I would almost always recommend finding an edition with the original drawings. I've also mostly omitted short stories, choosing only to include a small selection of the most famous. I think the book it hurt most to leave out, because it's so very different from the one by Dodie Smith I chose to include, is The Hundred and One Dalmatians, which ought to be on any list of classic children's books, but if I started listing multiple titles by authors, it would go on for ever. The most notable omission is R.L. Stevenson's Treasure Island which is, as far as I am concerned, unreadable, and I think few people now read G.A. Henty's Under Drake's Flag.

The titles below are listed in chronological order and, where a book is one of a series, I have either chosen the first or, occasionally, my own favourite. Readers are bound to find glaring omissions (which may represent authors I should have read, but can't remember, like K.M. Peyton), and I will be delighted to hear about them, and may even be persuaded to add them to the list! Remember that 1975 is the cut-off date, though, which was chosen as the beginning of a period when I was mostly required to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar many times a day! A classic, yes, but not much meat for the hungry adult reader.

Finally, there is information about almost all the authors listed below on Wikipedia and, frequently, information on individual books, so the only links I have included are to my own reviews. Another good site, with bibliographies and cover artwork, is Fantastic Fiction. Either site should offer advice about the order in which series should be read.

[s] denotes at least a sequel or, in many cases, a series; [ss] denotes short stories

Saturday, September 26, 2009

From SA 07/01/05The following are the 25 nonfiction titles from and about the West published during the first 25 years of the King's English, Salt Lake City, Utah, that the store has judged its favorites on the subject. This is just one of the many intriguing book lists that appear in co-owner Betsy Burton's new memoir, The King's English: Adventures of an Independent Bookseller (Gibbs Smith, $24.95).

1. This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind by Ivan Doig (Harvest, $14) 2. Basin and Range by John McPhee (FSG, $13) 3. The Desert Smells Like Rain: A Naturalist in Papago Indian Country by Gary Paul Nabhan ) 4. The Solace of Open Spaces by Gretel Ehrlich (Penguin, $12.95) 5. Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water by Marc Reisner 6. Wild to the Heart by Rick Bass (Norton, $12) 7. Desert Solitaire by Ed Abbey (Ballantine, $6.99) 8. The Sagebrush Ocean: A Natural History of the Great Basin by Steve Trimble 9. Desert Notes, River Notes by Barry Lopez (HarperCollins/Quill) 10. Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place by Terry Tempest Williams (Vintage, $13) 11. Where the Bluebird Sings to the Lemonade Springs: Living and Writing in the West by Wallace Stegner 12. Hole in the Sky: A Memoir by William Kittredge (Vintage, $19) 13. The Eagle Bird: Mapping a New West by Charles Wilkinson (Johnson Books, $14) 14. Riding the White Horse Home: A Western Family Album by Teresa Jordan (Vintage, $12) 15. Temporary Homelands by Alison Hawthorne Deming (Mercury House, $18) 16. Downcanyon: A Naturalist Explores the Colorado River Through the Grand Canyon by Ann Zwinger 17. A Place in Space: Ethics, Aesthetics, and Watersheds by Gary Snyder (Counterpoint, $17) 18. Homestead by Annick Smith (Milkweed, $13.95) 19. Where Rivers Change Direction by Mark Spragg (Riverhead, $14) 20. Canaries on the Rim: Living Downwind in the West by Chip Ward (Verso, $16) 21. The Blood Runs Like a River Through My Dreams by Nasdijj (Mariner, $13) 22. Eye of the Blackbird: A Story of Gold in the American West by Holly Skinner (Johnson Books, $17.50) 23. The Secret Knowledge of Water: Discovering the Essence of the American Desert by Craig Childs (Back Bay, $13.95) 24. Running After Antelope by Scott Carrier (Counterpoint, $14) 25. The Anthropology of Turquoise: Reflecting on Desert, Sea, Stone, and Sky by Ellen Meloy

On its 75th anniversary, there are at least four new marvelous books on the Works Progress Administration, FDR's New Deal program that put millions of unemployed Americans back on the job during the Great Depression. The titles unintentionally foreshadow the current economic meltdown. (Be warned: you might find yourself wondering if a "new" WPA could be in our future.)

Nick Taylor's exhaustive study, American-Made: The Enduring Legacy of the WPA (Bantam), tackles the program's many achievements and challenges with enough insight and enthusiasm to please history buffs and dabblers alike. You'll be shocked to learn how much of the WPA's handiwork still exists coast to coast, from airports and dams to community parks and post office murals.

Kathryn Flynn and Richard Polese's handsomely illustrated The New Deal (Gibbs Smith) delves into the eclectic deeds of the WPA as well as Social Security, the short-lived Civilian Conservation Corps and Civil Works Administration--the latter two of which together preserved wilderness areas and created countless roads, bridges and public buildings.

One of the WPA's most controversial ventures, the Federal Theatre Project, gets a fresh look in Susan Quinn's Furious Improvisation: How the WPA and a Cast of Thousands Made High Art out of Desperate Times (Walker). The FTP, along with the Federal Arts, Music and Writers' Projects (known collectively as "Federal One"), made up 1% of the WPA's enormous budget but, according to Quinn's lively and entertaining account, received the most Congressional scrutiny--and scorn--due to allegations of Communist infiltration (a subject of Tim Robbins's film The Cradle Will Rock).

State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America compiled by Paris Review deputy editor Matt Weiland and McSweeney's editor-at-large Sean Wilsey (Ecco) recreates the spirit of the WPA's famous "American Guide" series. While the Federal Writers' Project assigned thousands of out-of-work scribes to create a written portrait of the U.S., State by State employs some of today's best authors--including Dave Eggers (Illinois), Barry Hannah (Mississippi), Jhumpa Lahiri (Rhode Island) and Rick Moody (Connecticut)--to create a more quirky armchair road trip. (Don't miss the Out of the Book movie based on this from Powell's Books.)

More books on the WPA are on their way. Arriving later this month is Posters for the People: The Art of the WPA by Ennis Carter and Christopher DeNoon (Quirk Books), which documents the colorful achievements and far-reaching influence of the Federal Art Project's Poster Division. Historians consider the WPA's posters among the most noteworthy examples of public art in the U.S. They advertised exhibits and performances by the other arts programs, encouraged travel, warned against disease and helped to promote the nation's economic recovery.

And this February, David A. Taylor's Soul of a People: The WPA Writers' Project Uncovers Depression America (Wiley) will chronicle the work of future literary stars like John Cheever, Ralph Ellison, Zora Neale Hurston, Studs Terkel and Richard Wright as they toiled to create the WPA's popular state and regional guidebooks.--Larry Portzline is a writer and college instructor in Pennsylvania and founded Bookstore Tourism.

Monday, September 21, 2009

The List of Contemporary English-Language Authors to Readfrom Conversational Reading by Scott Esposito

With a big assist from the commenters on this post, here's what I think I need to read. Point out everything I missed in the comments. And please let me know of anyone overrated that I shouldn't waste my time with.

Lorrie Moore. People were pretty clear that I should avoid her latest novel and give the stories a try. So I suppose I'll start with her first collection, Self-Help.

Brian Evenson. Seems like the place to start with Brian Evenson is Last Days (an endorsement that seems to be echoed in Matt Bell's excellent essay), although I already have a copy of Fugue State, so I might just start there.

A.M. Homes. I'm not really sure where to start with her, but I found Music for Torching at a garage sale yesterday for a buck, so that's probably going to be it.

Curtis White. At that same garage sale (actually, it was a "block sale," I found Requiem by Curtis White, one of the American postmodernists I haven't yet gotten to.

David Markson. Speaking of White, David Markson is a known quantity, but he should definitely be on this list.

Chris Adrian. I have yet to find anyone who doesn't absolutely love this guy's work. I myself was amazed by The Children's Hospital. Looks like next I'll go with A Better Angel, the latest story collection.

Percival Everett. This guy has been in the back of my mind for a while now. Definitely someone to try out. I was recommended to start with American Desert . . . any ideas?

Kevin Wilson. Was told to give this guy a shot in the company of George Saunders (someone I should read a little more systematically). So is Tunneling to the Center of the Earth the place to start?

Margaret Atwood. Reading the coverage of her most recent novel, I am reminded again of what a strong body of work she has put together. I should really at least get started with her. The Handmaid's Tale is the obvious place to start, but from there where to?

Steven Millhauser. He definitely seems like someone doing good work. Is Dangerous Laughter the one to start with?

Aleksandar Hemon. Seems pretty clearly worth keeping an eye on.

Tom McCarthy. His body of work is only three books deep at this point, but Tom Mccarthy definitely seems like someone to watch.

Joe Meno. His latest has been getting good reviews, and he has a lot out there. Worth it?

Ron Currie, Jr. Although he has just a short story collection and a first novel to his name, we've given each very strong reviews, and he seems like an extremely promising author.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Philip Kerr's novel, If the Dead Rise Not, won the €125,000 (US$179,156) RBA International Prize for Crime Writing, (did the name change from Thriller to Crime Writing?) "the world's most lucrative crime fiction prize," according to the Guardian, which reported that Kerr said he was pleasantly surprised by the size of the award: "I recently got a prize in France which was a few bottles of wine."

The first Thursday of September has been thriller day ever since the RBA established this prize, which offers the world's largest monetary prize money for the genre.

A prize of €125,000 for the best unpublished work in the genre. This project is the result of the confidence RBA has in its authors — both the well-known and those waiting to be discovered.

Jury decision announcement: on the first Thursday of September.The competition is open to works written in: any language with a translation into Spanish or English.Prize money: €125,000Winners from previous years:2009 - Kerr, Philip. Dead Rise Not2008 - Andrea Camilleri, La muerte de Amalia Sacerdote2007 - Francisco González Ledesma, Una novela de barrio

Multi-channel, independent and with 100% Spanish capital. This is the calling card of RBA, a leading communications group in the business areas of magazines, collectables and promotions that has secured a prominent position in book publishing and is now venturing into a new area: audiovisuals.

The Blind Faith Hotel by Pamela Todd -- Winner!
I Put a Spell on You: From the Files of Chrissie Woodward, Spelling Bee Detective by Adam Selzer
Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka
The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary by Candace Fleming
My Brother Abe by Harry Mazer

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

From nearly 40 submissions down to one, the jury for the first ever St. Francis College Literary Prize has selected Aleksandar Hemon for his book, Love and Obstacles (Riverhead Books) as the winner of the $50,000 award, one of the richest Literary Prizes in the United States. Hemon, raised in Sarajevo and now residing in Chicago wrote his first work in English in 1995. He was awarded the prize at the Gala Opening Night Party of the Brooklyn Book Festival on September 12. Hemon was selected over the other short list authors: Chris Abani, Song For Night (Akashic Books); Jim Krusoe, Girl Factory (Tin House Books) and Arthur Phillips, The Song Is You (Random House).

“I was going to quit after this book now it turns out I'm mid-career,” said Hemon in his short, modest and humorous acceptance speech. “Thank you all for coming tonight and exposing me to this embarrassing pleasure. I will keep writing, I guess I have no other choice.”

The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan"I took this novel on vacation a few summers ago. I can still remember the beach chair I sat in day after day as I read about the conflicted, loving, and enduring bond between a mother and a daughter. I remember nothing else about the vacation but this sumptuous book."

Paula by Isabel Allende"At first, I didn't know if I could bear to read this heart-rending memoir, which tells the incandescent story of Allende's journey through her grown daughter's coma and death. But I ended it filled with hope and feeling like I'd been returned to what matters most in life."

One True Thing by Anna Quindlen"I love this utterly gripping novel about a daughter on a career fast track, who returns home to care for her mother and discovers her as a real person before it's too late."

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver"One of my all-time favorite books about a wise and funny young woman who has managed to escape her poor life in Kentucky without getting pregnant (this being her main goal growing up), and the three-year-old Native American girl she 'inherits' on her road trip. The novel's beauty and brilliance are the deepening way this unlikely pair become mother and daughter."

The Mermaids Singing by Lisa Carey"This novel is as magical as the title. Narrated in the voices of three generations of women—mother, daughter, and grandmother—it crisscrosses between America and Ireland, awash in islands, Celtic mythology, and the rich exploration of motherhood."

Daughter Picks from Ann Kidd Taylor

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott"No matter how often I read this 1868 classic, I find myself enthralled. Marmee, a wise and loving mother, encourages her daughters' ambitions during a time when such notions are not fashionable. You couldn't ask for a better mom in any historical period."

Chocolat by Joanne Harris"When magical Vianne and her imaginative daughter, Anouk, open a decadent chocolate shop in a small French town during Lent, secrets are revealed and love is tested in the village, but not as much as between Vianne and Anouk themselves. Impossible to read without eating chocolate."

Not Becoming My Mother by Ruth Reichl"After her mother's death, Reichl goes through her mother's letters and stumbles upon one that is written to her. What unfolds is a compelling story about a mother's choices and the lessons they teach her daughter. Sometimes her best lesson is what not to do."

Anywhere But Here by Mona Simpson"Adele and Ann are one of the more unique mother-daughter duos in literature. Adele could have taken a lesson from Marmee in Little Women about the finer points of motherhood, not to mention the basic ones. I found myself rooting for Ann and absorbed in the messy bond she has with her mother."

Sense and Sensibiiltyby Jane Austen"Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters support each other during dreary times. When Mrs. Dashwood comes to ailing Marianne's bedside, it is vividly clear why you never outgrow wanting your mother when you're sick."

Monday, September 7, 2009

The Falcon Award is awarded by the members of the Maltese Falcon Society of Japan for the best hardboiled novel published in Japan. The winning author receives a certificate of merit and a falcon sculpture crafted in wood.

* 1983 Early Autumn by Robert B. Parker (Spencer Book 7) * 1984 The Old Dick by L.A. Morse * 1985 The Wrong Case by James Crumley * 1986 Hammett by Joe Gores * 1987 When the Sacred Ginmill Closes by Lawrence Block * 1988 Hard Line by Michael Z. Lewin * 1989 Strega by Andrew Vachss * 1990 A Girl Who I Killed by Ryo Hara * 1991 'F' Is for Fugitive by Sue Grafton * 1992 A Ticket to the Boneyard by Lawrence Block * 1993 Book Case by Stephen Greenleaf * 1994 A Cool Breeze on the Underground by Don Winslow * 1995 Black Ice by Michael Connelly * 1996 no winner * 1997 White Jazz by James Ellroy * 1998 no winner * 1999 The Big Blowdown by George Pelecanos * 2000-2004 no winner * 2005 The Wrong Goodbye by Toshihiko Yahagi * 2006 Lost Light by Michael Connelly * 2007 Under the Skin by James Carlos Blake * 2008 No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

WHEREAS, Popular Fiction Association of Idaho, Inc. is a volunteer, non-profit, community based organization that promotes education and literacy in the community; and

WHEREAS, children need to be encouraged to read and write and be rewarded for their efforts to expand their knowledge and imagination; and

WHEREAS, it is good for the community to have authors, editors, and agents speak to and advise society about mystery writing; and

WHEREAS, Popular Fiction Association of Idaho, Inc. has volunteered to organize the giving of an annual award by the State of Idaho to an author who has significantly contributed to the mystery field; and

WHEREAS, such award shall be named after Idaho’s best selling suspense author, Ridley Pearson and Ridley Pearson has agreed that such an award be named after him; and

WHEREAS, Carolyn Hart is the author of more than thirty-five novels, is a widely acclaimed author of mystery and general fiction, and she has been chosen to be the fifth recipient of The Ridley;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DIRK KEMPTHORNE, Governor of the State of Idaho, do hereby proclaim that THE RIDLEY be given annually to a writer who has significantly contributed to the mystery field and that the fifth recipient of "The Ridley" be Carolyn Hart on June 11th, 2005, at Boise's annual mystery conference, Murder in the Grove.